SRMTHFG!: The Novelization
by Anime Monkey Girl Fan
Summary: Destiny is not necessarily a matter of choice; Chiro learned this first-hand when he pulled the switch that one fateful day. With a great threat of evil looming on the horizon, an once average citizen of Shuggazoom must now rise to the task of leading the reawakened heroes of old and protecting their world from the tyranny of Skeleton King. Co-authored by Hayley Cometra.
1. Destiny's Call

**Disclaimer: **_Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO!_ (_SRMTHFG_!) is the property of Ciro Nieli and the Disney Company. This novelization is purely made for entertainment purposes amongst fans. It **does** **not **and** never will** be making a profit.

I live! After a fellow friend of mine (and member here as well) known as Hayley Cometra and I were discussing my novelization, we ended up actually doing a RP of Chiro meeting the Monkeys as well as several of the in show episodes. And, best of all, our own version of the events after the season four finale! We split up the characters with myself playing Antauri, Nova, Skeleton King, and Mandarin (and some others) and she with Chiro, Gibson, Sprx, and Otto (and again, some other characters too).

During this great experience, we exchanged some fantastic ideas that my co-author Hayley Cometra and myself are proud to present here. So please make sure that you give credit to her, too. She deserves as much recognition for all she has done in getting this work underway once again. If ever you get the chance, also check out her own works here on the site. She has written some great stuff.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Destiny's Call**

On a piece of land in the midst of a vast crystal lake was the city of Shuggazoom. It was a place where cars used air as their means to travel; a place where most pets were mechanical machines (loyal and obedient to their owners like the actual beings), and a place where buildings stood high, their metal structure nearly blinding to look at on especially bright sunny days. The untiring activity of the city went on as it always did, the civilians' forms casting reflections on the waterfront. No one ever admired it or even spared a glance at the impressive sight in their hassle. It was not that the Shuggazoomians were dull individuals or single-minded, but it so happened that they agreed on one thing only: If it's not interesting or it has no reason to cause concern, then ignore it and go about your business.

This brings to mind what would be the most appropriate term to describe Shuggazoomians: close-minded.

In their noggins, there was never that flicker of a bulb. There was never an urge to change their daily routine or ever the curiosity to know more of what lied beyond the safe boundaries of their precious home. Just like the lake, the bridge—that was the only means of leaving the haven and into the world unknown—was largely ignored. The least they had done was naming it for reference if _ever_ it were to come up in a conversation. All citizens would agree that it was truly fitting to its title of the Zone of Wasted Years.

Why would anyone think of venturing outside their peaceful city? Who in their right mind would linger on the mere thought of it when everyone else's would cruise by it as quickly as their hover vehicles?

It would in fact surprise all to know that there was one particular boy who did have a more open mind than most. A boy who may very well be the key to something greater than anyone in the city would be able to comprehend.

But one may need to ask themselves this question: who is to say that the beginning would be as great as what is to follow? Who is to say that they don't start out as average as everyone else? Someone who has their own share of troubles?

Even as we speak?

Amongst the busy afternoon streets, a thirteen-year-old boy was shirking through the clumps of people. He often had to adjust his white backpack's straps to avoid it stripping off his shoulders. There was sweat forming in his black hairline, but he tried to ignore it.

In spite of how distressed the boy looked, this was just another typical part of the day for Chiro. He was used to running and hiding from the older, bigger, and stronger boys who taunted him and, if they were in the mood, beat him to a pulp. It was an unfortunate occurrence that he was placed on the very bottom of the school food chain and therefore an easy target for those who stood above… in more ways than one.

But not today. Chiro was determined to make it home without running into any bullies. The direction he was taking was sure to throw them off his trail.

Making sure he was not sighted by any attracted eyes, Chiro darted across the street and into a narrow alleyway. He pressed his back on the wall and stayed put for a bit to slow his heartbeat. Then with a cautious peek around the corner, he scanned the crowds with his baby blue eyes for signs of the two particular boys he was on the lookout for.

To his relief, they were nowhere in sight.

With only some turned over trash cans and the musty smell of rats scourging for food for company, Chiro was otherwise alone. He had only a little way to go before he made it to the safe zone.

He adjusted his backpack and walked on. He was half-way to the other end when he froze.

As his luck had it, blocking his way to freedom were two older—and not to mention larger—teenager boys: B.T. and Glenny.

B.T. was a lanky boy with red hair and a freckled face. Even when he wasn't grinning (like enjoying the torment of a fellow classmate), his crooked buckteeth were always noticeable; a reminder of his lack of care on his dental.

The shorter and tubbier boy was Glenny. His skin was much darker and he had a brown afro puffed up on his head. Though the differences between him and his accomplice were glaring, he had some similar features like the small eyes and hefty noses.

And their pairs of eyes, of course, were fixed on one thing only: Chiro.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" B.T. sneered.

"You aren't planning on missing out on us, are you?" Glenny added with a smirk.

Trying to stay calm, the boy groaned, "Come on, guys… I really don't want to go through with this again."

Both the bullies laughed.

"What do you think you can do about it, Geek?" asked B.T. "Bore us with your smart words?"

Chiro felt a swell of anger, but his next words were cool. "Nah. I think they'll be too much for your dinosaur brains anyway."

But the boy had regrettably forgotten that while the bullies were not the most intelligent there was, even they were able to recognize when they were being insulted. He didn't have time to turn around before his shirt collar was grabbed by B.T.

"Just for that, Geek," the freckled boy growled, "you're getting twice the pounding."

"Yeah, twice the pounding!" agreed Glenny.

B.T. glared at his friend. "Hey, quit repeating what I say, Glenny!"

"Why not?" Glenny asked, slightly irked.

"Just don't! It doesn't sound as—hey!"

Now realizing that B.T.'s hand was now grasping open air, the two boys looked up just in time to notice that Chiro was escaping back onto the street.

"_Oh_, you've done it now, Glenny!" B.T. said.

"Now what?" asked Glenny, who clearly didn't think very far in an event such as this.

B.T. smacked him upside the head. "Duh! We get him!"

"Oh, right!" realized the chubby boy, coming to his senses quick enough to run after his friend.

Controlling his rate of breathing, Chiro ran down the sidewalk. He knew for sure B.T. and Glenny would be on his tail. He disregarded the looks of some curious pedestrians as he right past them, who were then startled by the two teenage boys pushing by in chase of the thirteen-year-old.

Chiro's didn't slow down, but he did look back over his shoulder. B.T. and Glenny were catching up alarmingly fast despite his head-start. If he didn't think of something, he would be caught and… well, he didn't want to think about it.

He looked to his right. Hover cars were zipping by without so much as leaving a remnant on the paved road. He estimated that the next crossing was a quarter of a mile away.

_Let's see,_ he thought. _Running into a busy road and getting run over or getting beat up and stuffed into a trash can. What kind of options are those?_

"You got nowhere to run now, Geek!" he heard B.T. shout behind him.

_Okay, first one it is,_ Chiro quickly decided.

He made a sharp turn and ran out onto the street. There was an alarmed yell or two as the next hover car came his way, but he didn't stop.

The driver, however, did notice Chiro and slammed down on his breaks before he made impact. Chiro was already safely to the other side when he heard the driver shout something to him about staying off the road. It mostly went over his head.

He continued running and chanced another look behind him. B.T. and Glenny weren't there! They must have chickened out of following him across the hectic road. He couldn't help but give a self-satisfied smirk at what he imagined their faces looked like.

But as the vigilant young man he was, he didn't rest until that area of the city was far behind him.

* * *

The sun was setting beyond the city, filling the normally pink sky with tints of orange. The planet's orbiting moon, Ranger 7, was already fading in. Normally, this would be the point for kids to hurry home before dark (the city had set a curfew for minors), but Chiro instead slowed his pace. He didn't need to rush now.

Familiar buildings appeared on either side of him. Most were worn-out, likely standing there long, long before he was born. These were the few in the city that hadn't yet succumb to the policy of the new structural metal that now dominated the rest.

Chiro came to a stop in front of one. This one was a privately rented out apartment two stories tall. There was hint of erosion on the top left corner of the building and a crack on one of the windows which was, luckily, shielded by a tree from any probing eyes.

He smiled, a sense of serenity settling over him that would only appear when he was in the safest place in the world: Home.

Approaching the door, he reached into his pocket and fished out a bronze house key. He fitted the key into the keyhole and twisted it. The door rattled a few times before it came loose. He stepped inside into the hallway which darkened upon him closing the door.

The interior of the apartment was small. There was a kitchen and dinner table in one room. In the hall where he entered, there was a room to his left that served as an office… if it can be called at that stage. There was tons of paperwork stacked on a desk and boxes of wires and appliances shattered across the room. He vaguely remembered that when he was four or five, he nearly got buried under them after unwittingly knocking them over… and there weren't as nearly as much as they were now.

After removing his backpack and setting it in the kitchen, he noticed a note. He smiled, well accustomed to the hasty hand-writing of it. He removed the magnet that attached it to the fridge and read it over.

_Chiro,_

_I may be home a little extra later than usual because of a deadline. Your dinner is in the fridge. Put it in the microwave for at least five minutes...and take it out carefully please._

_I'll try to be home as soon as I can. If you're still awake when I do come home, I want to talk to you about those boys who keep picking on you._

_Love, Aunt Zia_

_P.S. I saw your most recent report card. I'm so proud of you! There's a special surprise for you on the TV._

He groaned lightly, not liking the subject of the two bullies being discussed with his aunt. He wanted to solve his problems on his own; plus, she had enough to worry about.

His aunt, Zia, was a very sweet and polite woman. Being the optimistic person she was, she kept her chin up in the hardest of situations and always considered the benefits of others before her own.

However, she was also very busy. To support both Chiro and herself, she worked each and every day at her job, pulling in extra hours for even a measly amount of additional cash. She usually didn't get home until late in the evening because of this. It was not that her boss, Mr. Nieli, was a tyrant. In fact, it was on more than one occasion that he insisted for Zia to take it easy or take a day off, but she never did unless it was for a chance to celebrate Chiro's birthday or she was very ill (which was very infrequent).

It still amazed Chiro how she was able to do so much _and_ make sure he was taken care of when she was not home. As far as he knew, she was his only living relative, but he loved her more than anything out there.

Curiosity overcoming his hunger for the moment, he walked over to the dining area, where a small TV and a gaming console sat next to the counter. On a box wrapped in plain brown paper was written in black marker, **"Con-grade-ulations, Chiro!"**

He chuckled lightly. "Aunt Zia..." He then opened the package and gasped when he saw the package inside. "Shugoken Robo Beast Wrangler! Score! ... But I'll play later; didn't get my good grades playing games all day."

Placing the game back onto the counter, he walked over to the fridge and microwaved the meal. As it was cooking, he opened his backpack and removed a book and notebook. He always ate and did his homework at the same time on weekdays, and he was always careful not to get his notebook messy.

About a half hour later, he had finished his meal and his homework. He intended to play a little bit of his new game, but he just couldn't find himself motivated. After avoiding getting beaten up, running home, and eating, he found himself very tired. He didn't even realize when he fell asleep with his head on the table.

Wednesday was just another normal day for Chiro Cipes.

/00000/

_His dream was like all the other ones that preceded it: amazing, enjoyable, and—unlike his school life—exciting._

_It was everything he ever wished for rolled into one._

_There he was on a racked battle field, just like one of the settings in his favorite TV show. The fate of the city rested on his shoulders as he came face-to-face with two of the most notorious fiends of the galaxy: the Brass Titan and the Inflatable Nemesis._

"_If it isn't Chiro," the metallic-armored man jeered. "It's been a long time."_

_Chiro pointed at them with a scowl. "Your wrongdoing ends here and now!"_

_The Inflatable Nemesis bellowed with laughter. "The odds are against you! You'll fight the both of us even though your precious teammates were easily crushed under our might?"_

_That said he beckoned a blubbery hand to an intact column. Three beaten people were tied to it: a muscular man, a black-haired woman, and a boy who looked younger than Chiro._

"_I'm afraid we were no match for them, Chiro-san!" the man—Super Quasar—exclaimed. "They're too strong!"_

"_They deflected our attacks like they were nothing!" the beautiful Aurora Six added._

"_And they took away our weapons!" Johnny Sunspot explained; his orange hair smothered with dust. "We're powerless!"_

_Chiro flashed them a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Sun Riders, I'll take it from here!"_

_It was the pudgy villain who made the first move. Sucking in air like a human vacuum cleaner, he inflated up until he was two times as large. Then rolling like a boulder, he went on a direct path headed for Chiro._

_Was Chiro scared? No! After all, he was the member of the greatest superhero team of all time: The Sun Riders!_

_As the Inflatable Nemesis was coming his way, Chiro's body glowed until he was much too hard to look at like the intense sun. Then, with but the tip of his finger, he stopped the bloated villain dead-on._

"_No! It can't be!" the Inflatable Nemesis gasped. "Is that—?"_

"_It's the Blazing Sun Finger!" exclaimed Johnny in amazement._

_Chiro grinned, knowing how this was going to end. "And that means you're about to be popped, Inflatable Nemesis!"_

_The same finger that he was used to halt the villain flicked him, without any effort, into a half-demolished building. What happened brought a whole new meaning to the phase 'the air being knocked out of you'. The villain deflated like a balloon and slowly slipped down to the ground._

_Enraged that his partner was defeated, the Brass Titan turned on Chiro. "Let's see how to handle my Brass Spikes of Fury!"_

_He held out both his arms. Several metal spears shot from the devices on both his wrists._

_Did Chiro have any idea what to do? Of course he did! He crossed his arms over his chest and shouted, "Sun Blast!"_

_A heat wave of energy flared from his body. The moment it contacted with the deadly spears, they were incinerated. _

"_No!" the Brass Titan screamed out melodramatically, unable to move away from the incoming discharge. "It is impossible! Noooooooo!"_

_He only had time to scream as he was thrown back. His back slammed into some debris and—rather embarrassingly for him—his armor melted off from the heat and was now in his undergarments. Though, he was too dazed and miserable to notice._

_Chiro put his 'soaking in his victory' on a hold. He freed the Sun Riders from their bonds and they all smiled in gratitude._

"_You did it!" said Johnny._

_Super Quasar patted Chiro on the back. "You saved the city, Chiro-san!"_

"_And us." Aurora Six kissed the boy on the cheek. "Thank you."_

_Chiro felt like his legs were turning to goo from the generous reward from his own TV crush. "Oh, uh, no problem… so what do we do now?"_

_The Sun Riders smiled, opening their mouths… and shouting out in a single booming voice:_

"_**It's time to wake up!"**_

/00000/

Chiro screamed in surprise, jolting up to a sitting position on his bed. While he calmed down, the alarm clock/radio was blaring on his nightstand.

"… _Good morning, Shuggazoomians!"_ the announcer said cheerfully. "_It's another beeaaaauuuutiful day! The temperature is seventy-six. Today's forecast features sunshine and… oh, what do you know? More sunshine! It's a perfect day to go outside and have a little family picnic in the park. That is… if you can find one open. Haha! … Okay, that's not really funny. Anyway, on a more serious note, Mayor Auman is proposing his plan today for—"_

Finally realizing what happened, the boy groaned. He planted his hand on the top of the alarm, silencing the reporter's chirper voice. So much for that sweet dream to last…

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms. _Boy, I must have been really tired last night. Don't remember getting into bed or sleeping in my clothes..._

After getting up and combing his hair, he left his room. As he passed the only other bedroom upstairs, Chiro took the tippy-toe route. It would have been unnecessary on a carpet, but the wood beneath it still managed to let out a protested _creak _for every person who so much as laid a toe on it. It further established to the boy of just how ancient the apartment was.

Chiro continued this careful tread even as he walked down the stairs. If his aunt had a deadline, he was certain that she had to be sound asleep right now.

How surprised he was when he came down! Aunt Zia was in the kitchen, just finishing preparing breakfast. She hummed an inaudible tune as she slid a spatula under some scrambled eggs on a steaming pan. The smell filled the boy's nostrils and he could feel his mouth watering somewhat.

As he went to the table, he caught sight of his books on the table and he quickly remembered.

_I must have fallen asleep right here! How embarrassing... She must be really frustrated with me for putting me to bed last night._

"Morning, Aunt Zia," he said cautiously, not sure if she was annoyed with him or not. "I thought you'd be sleeping right now, since you came home late last night."

However, he didn't bother to consider that she was feeling the exact opposite. Zia looked over her shoulder—shifting her shoulder-length blue hair in the movement—to flash him her classic smile.

"Good morning, little sleepy-head," she greeted. "I just got up myself about an hour ago. I couldn't really get comfortable on that old mattress last night."

Setting down a plate and scraping some cooked eggs and bacon onto it, she said, "I was kind of surprised that you fell asleep before I got back. You must have had one tiring day yesterday."

Chiro chuckled lightly as he sat down. "Well, you know, the usual. Only things different is that I got re-assigned to track in Gym Class… and I was able to put that to good use after school."

And he quickly began eating, hoping that breakfast would keep him from discussing that topic further. After all, it was rude to eat and talk at the same time.

Zia sat down and the two enjoyed their meal together as a family. Chiro never quaffed down his food so he could savor the fullest of the meal made by his aunt's hands. Anyone who tried her cooking would agree that she was an expert if not the best. She spend a lot of care on her food preparation, making absolute certain it came out in perfection.

He suggested to her how she should totally take a job as a chef or even become an assistant for Mr. Gakslapper in his Hover Burger Business. But he knew she wouldn't; she was afraid the money for the jobs wouldn't be able to provide for paying the rent and keeping Chiro in school. More than once, he threw in a suggestion that they could find a tutor so he wouldn't have to go to school anymore; a win-win for both of them.

But she always shook her head and said in a dejected tone:

"Chiro, as much as I want to get you a tutor, we can't afford one right now. Besides, being in school can give you a chance like no other: making some wonderful friends. I'm sure that there's someone who wants to be your friend, you just haven't found them yet. Just please give it time."

Oh, right, sure. Problem was that no matter how hard Chiro tried, he couldn't seem to find any good friends. The other students in school either wanted to pick on him (by other, he meant B.T. and Glenny) or they were too scared to speak up for fear that they'll be labeled as nerds themselves.

Still Chiro really _did_ try. Sometimes, if he wasn't busy with his schoolwork, he would ask to sit with some other kids at lunch or hang out, but they always had an excuse to avoid being around him.

"_The seat's taken. Why don't you ask the guys at that other table?"_

"_Sorry, I have to babysit my baby brother this afternoon."_

"_Can't. I got to get a haircut."_

Those who weren't so polite were much blander.

"_Why would we want to hang out with the guy who still watches _The Sun Riders_?"_

"_A nerd is the last kind of person I want to hang out with."_

"_How about you hang out with that trashcan? But it probably doesn't want to be friends with you either."_

At this point, Chiro seriously doubted he would ever have friends. It didn't bother him. As long as he kept up the good grades, he could have great opportunities after he graduated. He could even pay back his aunt for all she has done for him. She could have their dream job at last. That alone was enough for him to continue enduring school.

About mid-way through breakfast, Zia paused and said, "Chiro... I really want to talk to you about those bullies bothering you after school."

Chiro felt some of his appetite abandoning him. However, he was able to keep a frustrated groan from emerging. "It's not a problem at all, Aunt Zia, really," he insisted, trying to sound convincing.

"But, Chiro, it _is_ a problem!" Zia insisted herself, her brown eyes reflecting her concern through her glasses. "I don't like seeing you coming home with bruises almost every other night. … You know what? I could ask my boss if I could take a day off and I can—"

"Oh, look at the time!" Chiro suddenly interrupted after swallowing the last bit of the half of breakfast he had the appetite for. "Better hurry to school! They're going to announce what we need to do for our Science Fair today, and I don't wanna miss it!"

Quickly, he got up, took his textbook and notebook and hastily stuffed them into his backpack. "See you later, Aunt Zia!" he said before rushing out the door.

Zia blinked a good couple times, processing what exactly happened.

With a sigh, she looked over at the half-eaten plate. "Oh, well. I'll try to talk to him later."

* * *

Chiro ran down the street until he was at a good enough distance that he knew Aunt Zia wouldn't catch up to him easily.

He sighed. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her offer to help. But he knew she had enough on her plate without worrying about his problems, too...

"Sorry, Aunt Zia..." he whispered to himself.

He figured he should do something to make it up to her. He could make a stop at Mr. Gakslapper's after school and bring home some Hover Burgers. He knew that the middle-aged man would be more than willing to put them on the house for his favorite customer. That would perk his aunt up after a long day of work.

He put the idea aside for later so he could focus all his energy on the day.

* * *

School itself wasn't bad. Science was his favorite and best subject, and the Science Fair was something he always looked forward to. It was B.T. and Glenny that made school life so horrible.

Because science was his best subject, the bullies referred to him as the Geek and picked on him constantly. And another reason why he was picked on so much was his community and family background. He had even heard vicious rumors that Zia wasn't his aunt at all, that she was actually a foster parent who forced him into saying he was adopted just to make herself look good.

Remembering that made Chiro's blood boil. He didn't mind being picked on very much, or that he came home almost every other night with bruises and cuts. But insulting the one person who loved him just for who he is and not for what he can do...unforgivable.

The Thursday school day was pretty much like any other school day. Do decent in history and geography, eat lunch, excel in science, avoid the bullies, try not to fall asleep in math, practice for track in gym, blah blah blah.

Why was his life so _boring_? He asked himself that every day. Why couldn't he lead a more exciting life? Like that of the Sun Riders? They didn't have to worry about school or bullying. Maybe if he ever got to meet them one day, he could ask them about the secret to their success.

There was no suspicion that during the school day, when not concentrating on science, he day-dreamed about the whole 'having superpowers' concept. It was unlikely to happen, but he could still dream couldn't he? It gave himself something to do while Mr. Hopps's did a history lecture in that melancholy voice of his.

When the last bell of the day rung, Chiro gathered his belongings and left the classroom. As he was heading out the front entrance of Shuggazoom Middle School with the other students, he checked his surrounding before starting to leave, hoping not to get seen.

Naturally, he was.

"Hey, Geek!" someone called for him before grabbing onto his upper arm. "Nice running into you here."

Groaning lightly, he turned and saw B.T.

And standing next to him was Glenny. "Not thinking about missing out on our fun, are ya? We gonna pay you triple today for missing out yesterday."

"Look, it's been a long day, guys," Chiro said in the most calm voice he could muster. "Can't we all just go home _quietly _today?"

"As if!" Glenny chuckled.

Looking at his partner, the red-head said, "Hey, Glenny, let's take Geek to that 'special place' we talked about yesterday, huh?"

"Ooh, good idea, B.T.," the chubby boy praised, looking at him again.

Chiro couldn't think of anything else, so he did the first thing in mind: running.

He heard some shouts (that he was sure belonged to B.T. and Glenny), but he didn't look back this time to see them chasing him. He didn't run towards home, because he knew that they knew how to block him on the way, specifically after what the trick he pulled yesterday.

Instead, he was running towards an unfamiliar part of town. It was the less crowded part of the city, where buildings were cramped together, and few people walked the streets. He wasn't sure if he would manage to lose the two bullies in this unfamiliar place, but he kept on running.

And running...

And running...

Until he suddenly found himself walking on grass instead of pavement. Startled, he came to a halt and looked around. He had apparently run so much that he arrived into the outskirts. He looked around, not seeing anything in the immediate area that looked familiar.

And B.T. and Glenny weren't anywhere. They must have gotten lost and eventually turned back when they couldn't find his trail again. That or they were too frightened to follow him into the outskirts.

"Huh, I guess track isn't so bad," he muttered to himself.

After catching his breath, he explored a little bit and came to a wooded area. As he moved in deeper, the grass grew until it nearly reached his knees. Judging from the other signs of overgrowth, the place looked like no other human has set foot in it for ages.

A thought hit Chiro. Last week in history class, he had actually given an ear to one discussion Mr. Hopps had with the class. He said years back—before most of the students were even born—there was an old reservation on the outskirts. It once served as the city's original park, being the place to go for everyone. But during the previous mayor's term, the park fell apart from poor management and had to be closed off. Some came in on occasion to cut the plant growth closer to the city to prevent any of the buildings from disintegrating, but as nature should, it continued to grow untamed, giving a somewhat eerie comparison to the few images of what the boy had seen in textbooks on the uninhabited domain of the Zone of Wasted Years.

But at least it didn't seem so bad here. It was peaceful to Chiro who was so accustomed to the constant noise of the city. He decided to walk on, not yet wishing to leave such a tranquil place.

He had been moving for a couple more minutes when he found a can lying on the ground. No doubt that whoever came in here last wanted to leave their garbage behind.

_Maybe this is where they've been putting the garbage,_ Chiro thought, feeling bitter. He knew that if his aunt found out about this (not that he would want to tell her that he had been in the outskirts like he shouldn't have been), she wouldn't be very happy. She was very against littering and would go out of her way to pick any trash she noticed. It seemed to rub off on him over the years.

In disgust, he kicked the can away. As if he thought that it hadn't learned its lesson, he did it again. After some more kicks, nausea was replaced by amusement as he began a one-person game on how far he could kick it.

That is until he found himself standing under a shadow. He slowly lifted his head and the game was practically forgotten.

Towering over the boy was something that he had never seen before. The structure was clearly silver, but age had taken a drastic toll on it. It sort of looked like a robot with a rectangular shape. It was hard to tell for sure because of the moss and vines growing over it. It almost blended completely with the landscape around it.

"Whoa!" Chiro gasped. "What a cool statue. But this area's been abandoned so long, looks like no one took good care of it for a while..."

Feeling a bit sad, he walked up to it and placed a hand on one of its feet and began to say, "You must have looked really cool back in the da—"

But he was interrupted when a loud rumble began, followed with a massive door opening before him.

"What the—?" he gasped, jumping back. "... Did I do that?"

His common sense was telling him that he should run...but for some odd reason, his curiosity was getting the better of him again. He slowly came in, glancing around the room, though he couldn't do that well with what little sunlight was coming in at this time of day.

Suddenly, he heard another loud rumble, and he was trapped in darkness! The door had closed behind him!

"No!" he screamed, turning around and trying to get to the door. "Let me out! Let me out!"

Of course, with it being pitch black inside, he lost his orientation easily, and he couldn't tell which way was going towards the door. He groped for a while, hoping to find some kind of exit. He then felt the edges of what seemed to be a door.

Deciding to try his luck, he carefully stepped through it and felt along it. He found a button and quickly pressed it, hoping it would open something.

Instead, he suddenly found himself being thrust upward.

"Whoa!" he screamed before, a few seconds later, he found himself stopping and tumbling out. "Weird..." he groaned, feeling queasy. "Where am I now?"

The room he had stumbled into wasn't much brighter than the first. It was a huge room with six spherical... structures of some sort in the center, a massive monitor, and a couple more spherical structures of a large size along the edges.

The only reason why he could see this room at all in the pitch black was that he could see colored lights shining from one direction in particular: red, yellow, blue, green, and purple.

He glanced at the light source and gasped.

Inside what appeared to be huge tubes of some sort were five figures. They were floating inside some kind of liquid, and apparently it was the liquid that was giving off the glowing color. He slowly approached one of them; a black figure with huge yellow-green eyes.

"Wow..." he breathed. "Are you some kind of alien?"

Though he knew he wasn't going to get a response from the figure, he couldn't help asking the question.

"This is cool," he chuckled. "I would definitely get first place in the Science Fair if I could get these things out of here. I would need to turn on the lights, though..."

It was then when he noticed a smaller, fainter white light. He looked at it and discovered that it was shining on a switch. Convinced that the switch was what would turn on the lights, he walked up to it and placed his right hand on the switch, pulling it back.

Nothing.

He tried pulling it again.

Still nothing.

"Maybe I ought to push it..." he decided.

When he did, that was when something happened... but it was the last thing he expected. Instead of a large whitish-yellow light coming on, he could see some kind of green glow surrounding him. What felt like fire and lightning traveled up his arm, causing his body to burn and convulse. He wanted so badly to let go, but to his shock and horror, he found that he couldn't.

And with the immerse pain, came something else completely unexpected: voices. Five different voices speaking at once:

"—_wait, do you feel that—?"_

"—_it's reacting to something—"_

"—_do you think they're finally here—" _

"—_that's impossible! We've been asleep for—"_

"—_it's time—"_

Chiro did the only thing he could do in response: scream. And what a loud scream it was before the glowing stopped and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Of course, right before he cursed his curiosity once again.

* * *

**Notes:**

- On an official Disney website (which is now long gone), a description for Chiro detailed that he was a latch-key kid. It means that a child will often return home to an empty house while their parents or guardians are still at work. I wanted to incorporate that idea in this story when I first started this novelization.

- Zia was originally a name suggested by another friend on the Monkey See, Monkey Fu Forums: Time Shadow. Its meaning in Italian is "aunt", but it also means "light".

- Chiro's last name is a nod to the actor of the character, Greg Cipes.


	2. The Awakening

**Chapter 2: The Awakening**

Suddenly, there was light.

The illumination the room provided was little to begin with, but it was nonetheless blinding to Antauri's optical orbs which had yet to adjust from the world of dreamless stasis. Feeling steadily returned, the mechanisms in his system whirling to life to abide by his desire to move his joints. He felt liquid pressed on his body, but as his sluggish state of mind left him, he became aware of his lungs inhaling air.

As the water in his chamber drained completely, the glass in front of him slid open with a long, worn-out _hiss_.

Antauri stepped out carefully, his feet clanking on the metal surface of the floor. It was cold to the touch, but he didn't cringe. It was inviting. It assured him that he was where he needed to be.

He heard the patter of other pairs of feet and turned.

Four figures prominently similar to his physique, but different colors, were also recovering from their healing chambers. Unlike him, they didn't possess the ability to easily shrug off the aftereffects of stasis.

The one who had a dark green hue yawned, blinking his enormous eyes. The lesser white pupils were half-closed in the charcoal mass surrounding them.

"Morning, everyone!" he said in a deep but warm voice. "Boy, what a nap."

He hadn't even taken two steps outside his chamber before he slipped and fell.

"Wonderful, Otto," another figure chastised, while he patted down his damp, blue fur. "Not awake even one minute, and already you make yourself appear as a colossal dunderhead!"

A red figure came out quickly, shaking off as much of the liquid as possible like a dog fresh out of a bath. "Ugh, that water..." he groaned. He then noticed how dark the room was. "Hey, who killed the lights?"

Though his face didn't change, Antauri's tense demeanor lightened a bit. He may not have been as expressive as his teammates, but their company put him at ease.

But putting aside small talk…

"Allow me," Antauri said in regards to his teammate's comment.

His lime green eyes focused on the deactivated overhead light. He closed them not a moment later as he extended his right arm out. A current coursed over it, transforming his metal appendage into a ghostly green talon.

Almost like an invisible force willed it so (which wasn't far from the truth), the overhead flashed on, bathing the room in artificial light.

"That saves us some trouble," said a female voice.

Antauri turned again. With the now well-lit room, he was capable of seeing his four teammates more clearly. They were watching him expectedly, specifically the yellow figure who had the eyeridge of her helmet furrowed.

"Now that we have that taken care of," he said, "it's time to deal with the most important matter: our reviver."

"Well, duh," the red figure said, crossing his arms. "How else would we be awake right now?"

"But where is he?" the blue figure asked, looking around. "Or she?"

The green figure, the one who had tripped and fallen, got up and looked around. Then, he pointed. "Maybe he knows."

All of them looked at where he was pointing, seeing the unconscious form of a boy who was half laying, half kneeling next to a control panel with his right hand on a switch, gripping it tightly. Green electricity crackled around the boy's right arm for a few moments before it faded away completely.

The red figure screeched in shock. "Wait a micron! You gotta be pulling my cybernetic parts! He's a kid! Probably not any older than ten!"

Antauri knew better than judging someone by mere appearance. It was one of the many philosophies he stood by for every end. Rather than lightly chastise his teammate for his nonbelief, he approached the motionless boy.

"This boy is the one who reawakened us, Sprx," Antauri said. "_He_ is the one we have been waiting for."

Looking a little doubtful herself, the sole female among them couldn't help but ask, "How do you know?"

Antauri stared long and hard at the boy; partly in the physical sense, but also spiritually. It was remote, but he could recognize a powerful essence thriving inside the human's body. It was one that he was very familiar with; one that intertwined his life with those of his teammates and anyone else who had possession of the mythical energy.

Like the boy right in front of him.

"The Power Primate now lives in him," he answered simply.

The atmosphere in the room thickened.

Finally, the blue figure came forward and examined the boy as well, but for a different reason entirely. "In either case, it appears as though he has been electrocuted." He carefully removed the boy's hand from the switch.

"What do we do now?" the green figure asked, concerned.

"Sprx, Nova, help me carry him to the infirmary."

"You betcha, Dr. Gibson," the red figure, Sprx, smirked teasingly before taking the boy's feet. "Whoa, Kid's kinda heavy."

"Less talking, more carrying, Sprx," the yellow figure said, helping to carry the boy by his arms.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing, Nova?" Sprx said.

He flinched at her glare.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh…"

Antauri watched the group leave. Without looking at the other remaining member in the room, he said, "Otto, please see to it that the Super Robot is in proper working order."

Otto, snapping out of his worry for the boy, grinned at Antauri. His one paw held up retracted and became replaced by a wrench. "No problem, Chief!"

He then walked over to one of the control panels and removed one of the openings. As though they had minds of their own, his metal paws moved rapidly across the mass of tangled wiring, connecting, detaching, and rearranging them.

Having full confidence in the mechanic's skills, Antauri strode into the purple tube that served secondarily as his healing chamber. The instant he was inside, the suction yanked him upwards. When his ascend halted, he was in a hallway containing six spherical-shaped quarters.

Antauri arrived in front of one, the door automatically opening upon verifying a visitor, and went inside.

The quarters itself was adorned to that of a Zen garden. There were inscribed stones partway in the soil layered on the centermost floor space. A dry bank for what was once a stream ran along in a ring on the edges of the room, adjacent to a pod-like structure and a vacant bamboo fountain.

He stepped over the empty stream and stood in the middle of the garden, taking in the sight of the room. There was dust caked everywhere, but nothing appeared to be decaying from age. If he had to guess, it has been more than five years but less than twenty.

Antauri closed his eyes. He yearned for the sound of the stream to fill his ears (he would have to politely request that from Otto later). The flow of the current gave his mind a sense of peace. Initially, it was made for the purpose of acting as a medium in between the two plains of existence for his meditation practices, but it grew into a customary thing.

In the silence, he was able to reflect to himself. It was strange that so much time passed in between what was like drifting into a sleepless dream to now. He imagined that the world outside the Super Robot's protective shield has changed significantly. A world that has virtually forgotten the very existence of them…

… And _him_.

Antauri reopened his optics. The dimness of the room seemed to edge closer, the shadows eager to extend their touch. In his mind's eye, he saw something much more dreaded in the dark. An outline of an intimidating figure twisted into being. He could feel _those_ eyes peering down at him. It was a gaze that was ever vigilant, never once wavering.

It never ceased to bring him shivers.

He shook out of it and collected himself. If there was one thing that _he_ could do, it was provoking fear in _his_ victims.

There was no denying it though. Sooner or later—days or even hours—_he_ would sense their reawakening.

_He_ would return.

And with it, there would come vengeance like no other.

* * *

A short while later, the group of five was assembled in the command center, sitting in the bubble chairs matched accordingly to their body tones.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news about the Super Robot," Otto reported. "Good news is everything is in working order, including the Neutron Generator. Bad news, which isn't really so bad, is that it's been at least years since the Super Robot was last working. It'll take time for it to warm up."

"Ten years?" repeated Sprx. "Talk about time flying by, eh? I don't even feel any older."

"_Anyway_," Nova said, looking at her red comrade pointedly, "the _rest_ _of us _took a look around the Super Robot. We might need to replace a few things, but everything else just needs a little dust off and they'll be good as new."

"We gotta get these chairs oiled, too," Sprx complained as his chair spun a little, making a scratchy kind of squeak. "They're louder than Gibson's mouth."

"Well, at least I have useful things to say, unlike you," Gibson answered. "And as for the boy, he will recover shortly. It seems the Power Primate is already at work with him; the burn on his arm was minor and was mostly healed by the time I was able to administer treatment."

Antauri nodded, relatively pleased by the reports. "Good. As for myself, I sensed no impending threat on the city. All is peaceful... for now."

"I suppose now would not be the opportune time to tell the boy that he is…" Gibson began, but trailed off. His teammates may not have been at his level of intellect, but he knew that they knew what he was going to say next.

"But..." Otto's voice quivered. "What if he turns out to be a jerk? What if...he's...like...?" He wrapped his tail around his body, a sure sign that he was scared to finish his sentence.

In contrast to the look she gave Sprx, Nova's expression showed that of empathy towards the mechanic. "Otto, I'm sure he'll be nothing like… _him_." Though hidden for her friend's sake, there was an undertone of loathing in her voice at the mere mention.

"As for telling the boy," Antauri replied to not only Gibson, but for the others to hear, "I believe that should wait. The first and foremost duty right now is to protect him… until he is ready."

"Well, I still don't think this kid has what it takes to—" Sprx said.

"Quiet," Gibson chastised, though in a hushed tone. "I'm receiving a silent alert from the infirmary. The boy is rousing."

Otto froze. He could hear the door that led to the infirmary opening.

Silence.

"That's funny..." the mechanic heard a slightly hoarse and tired voice whispering. "Could've sworn I heard talking..."

He then heard slow, tentative footsteps. Otto started to grow nervous and twitchy. Where was the boy going? He hoped that the visitor wasn't going to hurt himself again.

Noticing Otto's antics, Gibson quickly put a metal finger to his lips, indicating to him and to all of them that they should be quiet.

"They're empty!" the hoarse voice suddenly gasped, louder but still sounding really tired. "But...that would mean..."

Otto finally couldn't take it anymore. He _had_ to see what's going on.

Slowly and cautiously, he peeked around the edge of his chair...and immediately was spotted by the wide-eyed boy.

"Aaahh!" the boy screamed.

"Aaahh!" Otto screamed back.

"AAAHH!" the boy screamed again, making a dash. He ran as fast as he could to the colored tubes, entering the one that was a straight shot for him, which was the orange one.

When the visitor had screamed and left the command center, Otto was so spooked that he fell out of his chair and didn't even see the boy going up the elevator tubes until he managed to pick up his head.

"Oh joy, you just couldn't listen and keep still, now could you, you buffoon?" Gibson chastised again.

"That was unexpected," Antauri admitted, calm as ever despite what happened. "But at least we know now that he is awake."

"We need to follow him before he gets hurt," Nova said.

"Indeed," agreed Antauri. "We must try to ease his qualms."

"Or, at the very least, make sure he doesn't electrocute himself again," Sprx grumbled as he got out of his chair.

"I'm sorry!" Otto said as he stood. "I just...I wanted to see him. I had to..."

He felt a paw on his shoulder. He turned and found himself looking at Antauri. His face was impassive, but it wasn't any less consoling to the mechanic.

"You don't need to place any blame on your part, Otto," he said. "What matters now is that we find the boy and properly speak with him."

* * *

There was only one thing in Chiro's mind: escape before the little green alien eats him.

He _knew_ he shouldn't have pulled that switch. He _knew_ it. All he wanted was to put the lights on. It did work, apparently, but did he really have to get electrocuted though? He was surprised that he didn't even get a burn mark.

When he woke up, he was too dazed to notice any more than he did. Somehow he was up on a table… in some other room. Glass tubes and machinery encircled him, but he had no idea what they were for… and he didn't want to find out.

So many questions piled in his brain that it made his throbbing headache even worse. What happened? How did he get there? What did that switch do to him? Why was that electrocution about? How in _Shuggazoom_ did he survive that?

But he then he forgot all about that. Why? Because he heard _voices_ outside the room.

Suspecting that someone must have come for him or was just there to tidy things up, Chiro got down on the floor and hobbled outside. It didn't matter to him if he got in serious trouble for trespassing; all he wanted to do was to get out of the crazy place.

The minute he was in the brightly lit room, he realized three things. One: No one was talking anymore. Two: No one was around. And third… _the_ _tubes were empty_.

He didn't need to wonder too much where the missing things in question were.

That was the point he ran for his life.

Out of desperation to get away from the… _the thing_, he charged into orange tube in hope that it'll bring him back to the entrance. Except, when he pushed a button to move, he was moving up.

"Wha—no!" Chiro screamed as he was shot up. "I don't wanna go up! I wanna go down! I wanna get out!"

But, of course, now that he was in motion, there was nothing he could do about it.

When the motion stopped, he came upon what seemed to be some kind of space with several spherical-shaped rooms.

"O-o-oh, okay," he said. "I'll hide. That's it. Then, when the aliens are gone, I'll slip away."

So saying, he entered the first room, which was actually quite vacant. There was not much for him to give him cover...except of course, for the closet. That was where he immediately hid himself.

As Chiro waited in hiding in what he figured must have been a bedroom, his shaky breathes slowly eased and his heart wasn't pounding as hard. Still, he couldn't shake off the sight he saw.

"What kind of alien was that...?" he panted in a whisper.

Why didn't he go home when he could?! If he had, then he wouldn't be in this mess! He should have manned up to BT's and Glenny's daily beating. He would have had bruises, but he would have been able to go home. But no! He had to had into the outskirts and explore. Now he was trapped with those aliens. If he doesn't find a way out, they were probably going to eat him (or whatever aliens do). Then the city will never hear from Chiro Cipes again.

He forced himself to take another deep breath. He was the science geek of the school. He can figure this out, couldn't he? Something… _anything_…

His plan was put on hold when he heard the door open. He froze and held his breath, hoping the aliens would just pass by.

"Doesn't look like he's here," one of them said. "Looks just the way we left it."

Chiro could hear footsteps approaching the closet door. He didn't know what else he should do, so he stayed put. Maybe the aliens will just give up and leave.

"You can come out now," a male voice said. "We are not going to hurt you."

Chiro was now horrified. The aliens _knew_ he was there?!

What could he do? If the aliens knew he was there and he tried to pretend that he wasn't by staying, they might come in and eat him. If he came out, they might eat him anyway. But… he somehow had a feeling that the alien meant those words. The statement that they weren't going to hurt him...was enough to tempt him.

Carefully, the door to the closet opened just a crack to let one eye peek out.

He saw the face of the black one, staring straight back at him with those massive yellow-green eyes.

Just then, the door opened the rest of the way, and the red one pointed a paw at him. "You gonna get out here or what? We don't have all day!"

Spooked by the sudden action, Chiro scooted back as far as he could and leaned against the wall, panting nervously. So much as going for the gut feeling.

The blue one glared at the red one. "You are not helping to alleviate the situation."

"You can talk?!" Chiro almost screamed, and then coughed. His throat was hoarser than he thought.

"Aww...your throat must sore from that screaming..." the green one cooed rather cutely. "Come on out here. We'll take you to the kitchen and get you some water."

The yellow one came up next to black one, offering a reassuring paw to the boy. "You don't have to be afraid. We don't bite."

"Yeah, at least, we won't bite you," the green one chuckled.

Although still a little unsure, Chiro glanced from one of these aliens to another, and he lifted a shaky hand towards the yellow one's paw. He withdrew it a little bit every time he came close; almost half expecting his arm to be ripped off. But finally, his fingers clasped her hand, and he was startled to find how strong she was for her size as he was carefully being guided to his feet.

"What..." he panted, still a bit frightened. "What kind of aliens are you?"

"I beg your pardon!" the blue one said, looking livid. "We are _not_ alien life forms. We are monkeys. Highly sophisticated, mecha-enhanced, cybernetic-"

"Monkeys?!" Chiro said, shocked. But then, after looking them over again...they did look sort of monkey-like. They had the basic appearance down, as he could see with parts of their faces, tails, and body structure. But it looked like they were the outcome of some outrageous science experiment. What must have been arms once were now metallic limbs. Their legs, so thin that they could pass for sticks, were attached to white feet that were abnormally flat by any standards. Seated on their heads were helmets that had a rim curving up on top. On the very edges of the headgear, a ridge stretched out in a V shape, which dropped at the tips and ran down both sides of their faces. As they thinned out further below, they met with what were antennas. He reckoned those functioned as their ears.

Lastly, there were the huge eyes… which were watching the boy.

"What?" he said, growing anxious by their stares.

"I believe in order to give a proper explanation for all this," said the black one, "we should begin by introducing ourselves."

"Um… okay," Chiro said.

The black one then inclined his head. "I am known as Antauri."

"I'm Nova," the yellow one said, giving a friendly smile.

"Name's SPRX-77," the red monkey said. "But you can call me Sprx."

"I am Mr. Hal Gibson," the blue one continued, calm again. "Do not call me Mr. or Hal, just Gibson, please."

"And I'm Otto, and we're the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force _GO_!"

Chiro jumped at the last word, but calmed down once he saw the grin on the green monkey's face.

"And what about you, Kid?" Sprx asked. "You got a name?"

The boy became a little miffed at that. "Of course, I've got a name. It's Chiro."

"Chiro..." Otto cooed. "Cooool..."

"Well, Chiro," said Antauri, "since you have just awakened, it would be best that you rest."

"How long have I been out?" Chiro asked.

"About an hour," Sprx answered. "Which was kinda surprising, considering—"

Just then, Chiro interrupted with a gasp. "Oh no!"

Believing that the boy had seen something that might be dangerous, Otto looked around. "What? What?"

"An hour?!" Panic swept into Chiro like a wave. "That means...it must already be dark outside! Aunt Zia's probably worried sick about me! I gotta get home!"

And without warning, he all but yanked his hand from Nova's paw and ran back to the elevators.

"Chiro, wait!" Gibson called.

But it was too late; he already entered the orange elevator and, this time, was able to get it to go down to the entrance. In a couple of minutes, he was able to find where he had gotten in. When he stepped outside, it didn't improve his spirits when he saw that it was almost twilight.

"Stupid, I'm so stupid!" he berated himself as he started running across the outskirts. "How could I do this to Aunt Zia?! She's probably half-frantic by now!"

He continued scolding himself well into half of his journey home.

* * *

The five robot monkeys were distraught (for the most part). After the boy had abruptly left them, the flabbergasted robot monkeys couldn't bring themselves to move. They didn't get to talk to Chiro for five minutes and he was already gone.

"Whoa..." Sprx chuckled. "For a little kid, he sure runs fast."

"We must stop him," Gibson said with urgency.

"Let him go," Antauri said.

"But, Antauri—" Nova started to protest.

She stopped when the black monkey put up a paw. "Yes, Nova, I know of what may happen. With the Power Primate now coursing in his veins, otherworldly forces will seek him out… and he'll be in grave danger. However, it must be _him_ who has to choose whether or not to follow the path the Power Primate has laid for him. We cannot make that choice for him. Until we know otherwise, we must see to it that he is guarded from harm."

"Great...babysitting..." Sprx grumbled.

Noticing Sprx's tone of voice, Gibson smirked and said, "Thank you for volunteering, Sprx."

The red monkey glared at Gibson in surprise.

"However, it would be prudent if at least one Robot Monkey were to accompany you," Gibson added.

"I'll do it," Nova offered. She was aware that Antauri, Gibson, and Otto had more important things to do than scouting. Besides, a little action after stasis was what she was looking forward to.

Sprx groaned, even as Nova took him by the paw and began dragging him. "I'm gonna kill you for this one day, Gibson," he grumbled. "I swear to you. Watch your back, 'cause one day I'll fry you into a crisp for this."

"Uh...think it was a good idea to send Sprx?" Otto asked after the pair had left, scratching his head.

"He will need to accept Chiro as our new leader eventually," Antauri said. "This will be a way he will soon come to realize that."

"Come along, Otto," Gibson said. "I will need your assistance for rebooting the Super Robot's computer mainframe and ascertain that the scanners are in working condition."

"Okay!" Otto said, his chirpiness resuming.

* * *

It was fairly dark by the time Chiro arrived back at the apartment.

When he was within walking distance, he gasped. There was a light on in the kitchen. Aunt Zia was home!

"Maybe...I can just slip in really quietly..." he whispered to himself as he gently gripped the doorknob, finding it unlocked. "Maybe...she won't even notice when I come in..."

He slowly turned the knob and pushed it open.

"Chiro?"

He flinched. _Busted._

Knowing well that sneaking would no longer do any good, he pushed open the door. He could see his aunt standing up from the dinner table, her swollen eyes widening. He felt a stab of guilt. She must have been bawling her eyes out the entire time he was missing.

No sooner did that cross his mind, Zia had rushed over to him. She threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly.

"Chiro! Oh, thank Shuggazoom, you're safe!" She loosed her grip somewhat to look him in eyes with her own tearful ones. "I was so scared that you had gotten hurt or worse! If it was about this morning, I'm so sorry!"

"Aunt Zia!" Chiro exclaimed. "No, it wasn't anything you said. I'm the one who's sorry. A couple of guys at school tried to block me on my walk home, so I outran them. But I ended up getting lost."

She pulled back, blinking in disbelief. "_Lost_? _You_ got lost? Of all people, Chiro Gregory Cipes, you were the _last_ person I would expect to get lost in the city with your great sense of direction and all..."

"I wasn't paying attention," Chiro quickly added. "But don't worry, I'm not hurt. I managed to find my way after some exploring."

For an instant, he was afraid that she saw through his lie… but then her shoulders dropped from diminishing tension. "Oh… well… you're safe and home now. That's all that matters to me. Please don't scare me like that again."

Chiro smiled a tiny bit. Though still feeling guilty, he was relieved she didn't question more than she did. He wasn't sure telling her that he went into outskirts would be a good idea. She had her share of worries for one day.

A thought then came to him and his smile faded. "So… how did you know I was coming in?"

Humor danced across Zia's face as she winked. "Why else do you think the door makes that click sound when it opens? It's so I always know when you're home."

Chiro blinked, surprised. "Really? I thought it made that sound because it's broken..."

"Well, it's partly that too," Zia giggled, leading Chiro to the table. "But you must be starving after your long day. I was saving this for your dinner, but… hey, no time like the present."

After she said that, she carried a plate out of the microwave and placed it on the wooden surface. What the boy saw on it made him gape.

"A Hover Burger from Mr. Gakslapper's," Chiro gasped. "You sure it's all right? You already spent some of your hard-earned money on my new game..."

He would have continued, but his hoarse throat gave off another cough, giving away how thirsty he was as well.

"Nonsense!" Zia said, making Chiro sit down. "Mr. Gakslapper was generous enough to make it on the house for one of his favorite customers."

She then, after having grasped that her nephew was thirsty, got him a can of soda from the fridge. "Now I want you to enjoy this dinner and that's that."

He smiled. She was so good to him, and all he did today was made her worry. Even if all of the vicious rumors were true—even if his aunt wasn't really his aunt and just some foster parent who pretended to be his aunt—she loved him no matter what. That was good enough for him.

And thankful for the meal, he began to dig in the Hover Burger and drink down the soda.

His stomach satisfied and his throat quenched, he yawned.

"Oh, look how tired you are," Zia said in a matter-of-factly voice as she helped Chiro to his feet. "You should be off to bed now... and don't you say otherwise, young man."

"Yes, Ma'am," Chiro replied without any objection. With her help, he was able to get to the bottom of the staircase that led to the bedrooms.

He placed one hand on the rails to support himself, but before he started climbing, he looked at his aunt. "Aunt Zia...I'm really sorry I made you worry today. I was kinda stupid about that..."

Zia kissed him on the crown of his head. "Silly, everyone makes mistakes. Just please promise me that it won't happen again, okay? I love you, Chiro. Good night."

"Good night, Aunt Zia," Chiro said. He slowly climbed the stairs, making sure to hold onto the rail so that he wouldn't fall.

With all the wackiness he went through today, he _seriously_ needed a good shut eye.

* * *

Unknown to the human residents of the city, two small figures were skirting their way through the streets of Shuggazoom. Since no one was out at this time of night, it was easy for them to go unnoticed. Still, they were very careful.

Sprx allowed Nova to lead; no argument necessary. He still felt groggily from stasis, so he favored going at his own pace, which was slightly slower than his teammate's. He had to inwardly wonder how she managed to get so invigorated only a couple hours after waking from stasis.

_Then again, she_ is _Nova,_ Sprx thought, chuckling softly. _Everything about her is unpredictable_.

He let his thoughts wander, breaking off every so often when his teammate altered direction. Why did this city have to have so many twists and turns?

Maybe it wouldn't have annoyed him as much if he had been better accustomed to its layout. The other members of the team weren't any wiser (excluding maybe Gibson; that wouldn't surprise him). What could one presume from the fellas who have technically only been guardians for a grand total of a _year_?

He knew someone would argue that a year was _plenty_ of time to get to know the community, but not for his team. There weren't exactly any chances for them to go out and actually _look_ at the city. As they were regularly busy with their "protecting the world" schedules, it was obvious why. Sprx had always believed he and the team had been missing out. A place like Shuggazoom had tons to offer. Why couldn't they take the luxury of having a day-off from superhero responsibility?

Then again, if he brought that up, Antauri would then start up a speech, explaining how the fate of the world rested on their shoulders, yadda, yadda, yadda, they couldn't be careless, yadda, yadda, yadda…

Don't get this cybernetic monkey wrong. He knew how vital it was to protect the city; it was what he was built for. He may not remember _who_ wired him with that obligation (a complete mystery to the team as a whole), but memories or not, they all had a sworn duty to uphold.

But would one day of relaxation _honestly_ kill anyone?

As he and Nova were passing by a section of older houses, he hesitated. He looked to one of the shabby-looking buildings to his right. The tug in his gut was stronger there.

"Well, this here's the place," Sprx whispered. "Any idea how we can keep an eye on him while he's inside?"

Nova pointed at a window on the second floor that was in clear view of a tree. "There's a good spot. Come on."

Sprx followed Nova up the tree. He smirked; he felt at home here. He was glad that there was so much foliage on the branches, as it would mostly hide their red and yellow colors.

They arrived at one of the bigger branches in view of the window just in time to see the boy—Chiro, was it?—entering the bedroom. They also found that they could hear him fairly clearly as he was talking to himself.

"What a day..." he groaned as he sat on the bed and removed his backpack and school clothes, preparing to put on his pajamas in their place. "What day was today again? Thursday? Good, tomorrow's Friday; Fridays are half-days at school for me. Wish today was Friday, though...then tomorrow would be the weekend. ... What a really weird hallucination. Alien monkeys? I gotta stop eating the school cafeteria food for lunch."

By this time, he had dressed from bed and curled up under his sheets, ready to sleep away his fatigue.

Sprx growled lightly, transforming his hands into magnets. "Hallucination? Why, I oughtta-"

"Sprx!" Nova exclaimed, smacking him upside the head. "Knock it off! In case you didn't hear Antauri's orders, we're supposed to be _protecting _him."

The red monkey groaned, shooting her a glare. She could have told him that _without_ hitting him.

But not saying another word, he transformed his magnets back into paws and got himself into a more comfortable position. If he was going to be stuck doing this, he might as well get comfortable; babysitting or not.

He didn't understand why Antauri was so confident about this… _kid. _He looked nothing special to Sprx. The kid waking them up and having the Power Primate was all one big misunderstanding. No one other than him was sane enough to realize that. Soon, this thing would be cleared up and they would go search for their right guy. Someone who was experienced. Someone older.

After all, destiny had to screw up every once in a while… right?

Sprx groaned. He wished he was back at the Super Robot.

_Why me?_ he thought. _Why not Gibson...?_

* * *

**Notes: **

- Gibson's first name is a possible reference to HAL 9000 of the 1968 sci-fi film, _2001: A Space Odyssey_.

- Although the spelling suggests otherwise, Sprx's name is pronounced _Sparks_.


	3. Taunting Shadows

**Note: **Previous chapters have been updated with some modifications.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Taunting Shadows  
**

Chiro promised that he would _never_ lay a finger on school lunch again.

Everything was looking up for him that evening, too. He didn't get punished, he had a juicy Hover Burger for dinner, and he was sound and safe under his bed sheets. It couldn't get any better than that.

What a rain on his parade _that_ would be…

/00000/

_His dream began as the usual: Go out on patrol duty with the Sun Riders, track down any criminals, kick their butt, and then soak in their latest victory. It was the same old, same old._

_Seated in the sidecar of the one of the Sun Cycles with Johnny Sunspot, Chiro grinned with anticipation on what battle awaited his team. Was it going to be rescuing damsels-in-distress? Or perhaps even saving some civilians from a hostage situation? He didn't know… but he was ready to take on anything._

_Johnny Sunspot, whose head was fastened with a headgear akin to Chiro's, looked down at his Sun Riders criminal-activity detector._ _"We got a report saying that the Brass Titan and the Inflatable Nemesis are at it again!"_

"_Then we must apprehend those criminals immediately!" Super Quasar said, clenching one fist while keeping his motorcycle from going awry. "They must meet the righteous of justice!"_

_Aurora Six smiled over at the young two boys. "Ready for another fight, Chiro?"_

_Chiro gave a thumbs up. "Always am!"_

_The superheroes arrived quickly at their intended destination. Upon seeing the silhouettes of two distinct figures up ahead, the Sun Cycles halted some distance away. Quickly removing his helmet, Chiro ran forward to confront the villains._

"_Causing trouble again?" Chiro asked._

_The two villains turned… and the boy couldn't believe his eyes._

"_Wh-what?" Chiro gasped. "B.T. and Glenny?"_

_B.T., who was garbed in the Brass Titan's guise, smirked. "Look who it is, Glenny! It's Shuggazoom's own first class nerd!"_

"_You're still having dreams about the Sun Riders?" Glenny laughed, his overweight body practically made for the Inflatable Nemesis's uniform. "How lame is that."_

_For a moment, Chiro lost his nerve. But that was it; a moment. His eyes narrowed as he moved into an aggressive stance. "You won't be saying that after the Sun Riders and I kick your butts."_

"_Oh, yeah?" Glenny's sneer grew. "Where are your Sun Rider friends now?"_

"_Are you blind? They're right behind…"_

_When he turned, he was absolutely shocked to see that neither the Sun Riders nor the vehicles weren't anywhere in sight. They were just there! Where did they go?_

"_So, you think you're some hot shot hero all by yourself, eh?" BT/Brass Titan jeered._

"_Well, tough, 'cause you're just a little baby boy!" added Glenny/Inflatable Nemesis._

_The boy gritted his teeth, determined not to let anything stop him from giving the justice that they deserved._

_Except…something happened that he wasn't prepared for._

_As the two villains laughed at him…color slowly began to vanish from their bodies, fading away to a sickly dark-green, almost black. The laughing continued, only the voices began to deepen…to darken…to merge. Their bodies melted like wax on a candle, distorting their images beyond recognition. The substance that the bodies had turned into began to trickle down the street._

_Noticing that the gap between him and the substance was slowly being closed, the boy took a step back._

_That proved to be a mistake. The instant that he moved, the substance lashed out at him in unbelievable speed. Part of it whipped around his legs, binding them together._

_With a gasp, the boy placed his hands onto the sticky tar-like substance to shove it off. Except that when he did, his hands sunk into it and couldn't move once they were in._

"_No!" he shouted, wrestling his body in a feeble attempt to free himself. "I can't get loose!"_

"_Keep struggling if you like," the deep, dark voice hissed at him. "It will make this easier for me."_

_The substance that held him captive began to move, taking the boy with him. Chiro gasped as the movement was so quick and unpredictable that it was starting to make him dizzy. His gooey prison arrived at the water tower, and parts of them acted like tentacles and began to climb up the structure, lifting the boy high above the streets._

_The storm clouds overhead darkened into something more sinister. It was as if the storm itself was blanketing all light from around Chiro. Not only had the moon and the stars vanished, but even the city lights seemed to dim and dwindle._

_And as the darkness began to swallow him, the substance began to close around the boy's body. Chiro could feel the substance tightening around him, threatening to break him in half like a toothpick!_

_All the while, the mocking laughter did not cease. "You think yourself to be a hero. Foolish boy…"_

_Chiro wanted to cry out in some way, whether it was a call for help or a scream of pain. But the squeeze on him was cutting off his circulation and crushing his lungs. How long would it be before the life drains out from him…?_

_Even as his vision was fading, the boy was surprised to see…a rainbow piercing through the storm clouds like an arrow. The rainbow struck the strange substance, and although the blow looked like a fist punching a pillow, the scream from the sickly voice told Chiro that the blow was hard. The section that was squeezing him loosened._

_This caused Chiro to fall towards the street! If the boy's senses weren't dulled from the squeeze, he would have known that a fall from such a height would surely kill him!_

_But…the rainbow turned course and streaked toward him. The individual colored-lights separated and each took hold a different part of the boy's body. The yellow light took his right leg and the green light his left, the blue light took his right arm and the red light his left, the purple (albeit dark purple) supported his head, and the orange light supported his back._

_Unlike the how gooey formation held him just moments ago, each of these lights' grasp was secure but gentle; it reminded him of how his aunt used to hold him in her arms when he was badly frightened. His fall slowed until he could feel his body gently placed on the street._

_Even though him being saved wasn't stopping him from losing consciousness, something inside him told him not to be afraid even if he passed out. These lights…whatever they were…he knew they would keep him safe._

/00000/

A ray of sunshine peeked between the tree branches and leaves and landed on the boy's closed eyes. Chiro groaned in protest, already in discomfort from his brow being sweaty and his head a little hot. Slowly, he turned in his bed and opened his eyes. He should have closed the curtains last night.

"Okay, okay, sunshine, I'm awake," he moaned. "Don't expect me to be happy about it."

He got up and stretched before grabbing a clean set of his school uniform. After getting dressed, he entered the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair.

"Ugh…what a weird nightmare…" he said. _Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have a Hover Burger right before bedtime…_

He tried to push the thought of the nightmare to the back of his mind. He had school to focus on. Getting distracted about that and robot monkey hallucinations wasn't going to maintain his marks.

When Chiro stepped out of the bathroom, his nose caught the unmistakable smell of cinnamon. Shuggazoomian toast! His favorite breakfast, especially when it was his aunt's homemade recipe. He returned to his bedroom to pick up his backpack, and then dashed down the stairs.

"Morning, Aunt Zia!" he greeted as he seated himself at the table.

His aunt smiled brightly at him, flipping over a toast on the grill as she did. "Good morning, Chiro! You're awfully chirpy this morning. You must have had a good night sleep."

Chiro forced a bit of his smile. He probably shouldn't bring up the nightmare. "Yeah, I slept well. Is it that obvious?"

Giggling a little, Zia used the spatula to slide a couple pieces of the Shuggazoomian toast onto a plate. "Maybe."

She gave him that plate, but he didn't start eating until his aunt retrieved hers. He didn't like having his meal without her at the table unless it couldn't be helped.

Once the two of them were settled, Zia asked, "Chiro, isn't it a half-day at school for you today?"

"Yeah, it is," Chiro answered, cutting a slice off his toast. "Advanced students get out early on Fridays. Why do you ask, Aunt Zia?"

Zia drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "Well… late yesterday, I managed to finish my deadline at work. I was thinking I could take a day off so we can spend this afternoon together."

Chiro swallowed his first bite of Shuggazoomian toast. Part of him felt relieved; he had been afraid that she was going to say that she was going to go with him to school that day to talk to someone about BT and Glenny. First of all, he didn't want her to worry about him; and secondly...he really didn't want anyone at school to see her coming with him and to think that he was being clingy.

"It's been a while since we spent good quality-time together, Aunt Zia!" he said in delight. "I would totally go for that!"

"Oh, wonderful!" Zia said. "I can already tell this is going to be a great day for the both of us."

Chiro beamed. "Well, better get going. The sooner I get done with school today, the sooner we can spend time together!"

He gulped down the last quarter of his orange juice, and then put the glass, plate, and silverware in the sink. He would have washed them, but he had to get to school.

"Love you, Aunt Zia," he said, grabbing his backpack and heading to the door. "I'll see you later."

"Have a great day, Chiro!" Zia called from the kitchen. "Do well on your school work… oh, and, whatever you do, don't talk to strangers!"

The thirteen-year-old cracked a smile. _Typical Aunt Zia…_

* * *

Yeah, Sprx _really_ wished that he was back at the Super Robot.

The half-asleep robot monkey was convinced that if the trunk hadn't been there, he would have fallen off the branch ages ago. Not surprising considering he hadn't gotten any sleep _all monkey doodling night long_. He blamed that partially on his teammate. Whenever he drifted off, she would do the _generous_ thing of nudging him out of it. "No sleeping on the job" she would tell him.

"Jeez, Nova," he grumbled to her after the fifth time. "Can't a monkey get a decent night's sleep?"

"You had plenty of it." Then she proceeded to whack him over the skull with her tail.

"'_No sleeping on the job, Sprx'_," he said under his breath. "_'It's not like we have anything better to do than babysitting. Forget about sleeping. It's not like some monkeys here need it_._'"_

"You said something back there, Sprx?" Nova asked, looking back at him.

"No." Sprx smiled innocently. "Nothing at all."

Nova rolled her eyes, and then resumed her sentry.

And Sprx resumed his own moping. He did this for what he assumed was the next half-hour. Below, civilians were progressively packing the streets now that the sun was visible on the skyline. He noted that many of the humans that came by were adults in business suits (he preferred to use the term monkey suits). They must have had six senses like Antauri for they were able to elude crashing into anything when all they did was look at paperwork in their hands or their watches.

"Love you, Aunt Zia. I'll see you later."

Sprx jerked his head to the apartment. The human boy, Chiro, was stepping out the door. On his shoulders were the straps of a backpack.

"Have a great day at school, Chiro!" a woman's voice shouted from inside. "Do well on your school work… oh, and, whatever you do, don't talk to strangers!"

The red monkey looked at Nova. "What's this place called school?"

"I don't know," she said. "How about watching and listening like _other monkeys_ have been?"

He would have retorted back, but the pair noticed that Chiro was walking beneath the branches of the tree. They didn't move till they were definite that the boy didn't see them.

"He's moving out," Sprx said. "We'd better go report."

"Way ahead of you," Nova said as she pressed a paw on one of her metallic ears.

* * *

A single, vexed screech would be all it took to shatter the serene silence of the old park reservation and propel birds to fly away from the seemingly lifeless statue in a panic.

"_OTTO, STOP YOUR IDIOCY THIS INSTANT!"_

In the configuration of what the birds had seen as a go-to perch spot, a green cybernetic monkey curled his lower lip in a pout at his less than amused teammate.

"Why _not_?" he asked.

Gibson smacked a paw to his face. "Otto, I am going to repeat this to you in the simplest terms possible: Repairing the Super Robot does _not_ give you the right to add one of your ridiculous gizmos to the mainframe!"

"Aw, come on, Gibson! Try it out just once!"

The green robot monkey tapped a key on the Command Center's console. A motorized arm with three revolving blades attached to it rose out of a panel. His blue teammate let out a startled yelp as he was thrown back by the gust of wind.

"See? It works!" Otto smiled.

Hauling himself to his feet, Gibson curtly replied, "Oh, yes, it _certainly_ does, Otto. As much as I would _love_ to be the guinea pig for another one of your inventions, we have other pressing matters to attend to."

Otto rubbed his head sheepishly. "Oh, right. Sorry, Gibson. I'll get back to work."

"_Thank you_."

They returned back to their objectives. Not long after they did, a _whoosh_ sound at their backs informed them that someone had entered the Command Center.

"Current status, Gibson?" Antauri asked, joining them.

"Scanners are fully functional," the blue robot monkey replied, indicating an open panel near Antauri's feet, where Otto was fixing up some of the wiring. "However, there is no Skeleton King activity registered."

Otto reemerged from underneath the panel, looking rather solemn. "But...I can't shake off this weird feeling that he's coming here."

A troubled look flickered across Antauri's features. "You are not alone, Otto. I, too, sense the Skeleton King's presence... as he does for us surely."

That had been the first any of them had uttered _his_ name since reactivation. It was rare for Antauri to appear less at ease than normal, but infrequently, a trace of unwanted emotion would find its way on his face without his awareness. His two years of training on Koraladol had taught him to keep his sentiments bottled up to avoid exposing weakness to the enemy… and his comrades.

Just then, Gibson's ear-antenna extended. "_Okay, Gibson, we watched the Kid_." Sprx's voice said in irritation. "_Can we come home now?_"

Equally as annoyed, Gibson answered, "Do you have anything to report, Sprx?"

"_Just that the Kid has to go to this place almost every day called school, which is where he's going now...and he apparently doesn't like being there for some reason. And he's also got plans to spend the afternoon with a relative. No trouble anywhere_."

"_Do you want us to follow him?"_ Nova's voice added. "_Or do you need us back at the Robot_?"

With a quick glance at Antauri's direction for confirmation, Gibson answered, "Keep observing him. We have everything well in hand here at the Robot. And remember your orders."

Sprx was heard groaning in exasperation on the other end of the link. "_I am so gonna kill you for this one day_..."

"Mm, noted," a half-listening Gibson replied as he concentrated back on his work.

* * *

Chiro happily walked down the street. He didn't really know why he felt so happy. It was almost as if a part of him that he really wanted to be was finally coming out, and it was making him smile.

He was almost to school property when he hesitated. Why did he have this feeling that he was being watched? Was it BT and Glenny? He turned around, glancing about. There were a few kids on the sidewalk and some hover cars zooming by, but none of them were pausing to watch him.

He was baffled. There was no one spying on him... except there had to be. This feeling...it didn't feel like a gut feeling; it felt more like something...deeper. What was that feeling?

Then, the bell rang its first warning, snapping Chiro back into attention. He sprinted into the school grounds, doing all he could to ignore the peculiar sensation.

* * *

"That was a close call," Nova said.

Sprx gave a slow nod. The two of them had frozen up when Chiro looked over at the bushes where they were concealed. They were afraid that their cover was blown, but a bell from the adjacent building had rung, drawing the boy to it.

"Okay… now what?" Sprx asked his teammate.

The yellow robot monkey, however, had already left him to scuttle towards the vegetation planted on the border of the property.

"I guess it's back to the trees..." Sprx muttered, going after her.

A few dull hours later, the bell rang again. Sprx and Nova watched as several kids emerged from the school building. Most of them were going to the recreational area or to the outdoor consumption area. The two didn't quite understand why only some kids were allowed to leave school early upon that bell.

But Chiro was one of them.

He didn't get very far when two other boys—one lanky, the other tubby—appeared in front of Chiro before he could actually exit the school grounds.

"Hey, Geek," the tubby one chuckled darkly. "Hope you enjoyed dodging us the last two days, 'cause we've got quite a _treat _for you today."

"Yeah," the lanky boy said as he grabbed Chiro's upper arm. "And you don't want to _miss_ this!"

"Actually, BT, I would rather not," Chiro said. "Let go of me."

"Heh, no way, Mr. Smarty-Geek," the lanky boy, BT, said. "Come on, Glenny."

Against his will, Chiro was forced back into the heart of school grounds. Sprx snarled softly. Much as he didn't like Chiro, he knew what he and Nova were witnessing was wrong. But he minded their orders and stayed hidden.

Hard as it was.

* * *

At the Super Robot, an alarm blared, arousing Gibson's attention. "Oh, dear..."

"What is it, Gibson?" Otto asked.

"There is a small incoming vessel closing in on the planet's atmosphere! And it's just not any small vessel..."

A layout of the planet became displayed on the monitor. Approaching the airspace at rapid speed was what could be described as a ball of fire. The flames coming off spluttered so profoundly that it would be impossible to tell what it was... for most.

Antauri squinted his eyes, a feeling of dread growing inside of him.

"_Formless_."

* * *

In a couple of moments, the three boys were standing at the edge of a pool. Unknowing to the bullies, they were facing in the direction where Sprx and Nova could see their faces plainly. Chiro's face was white as a sheet.

That expression was exactly what the bullies wanted.

"Ha ha, remember earlier this week, Geek!" Glenny laughed. "When the Gym class first assigned you to the swim team? You were begging to the teacher to be assigned to anything, anything but the swim team."

"Yeah, and you should have seen the look on your face!" BT said. "You were as yellow as a chicken! Bawk bawk bawk!"

Sprx growled. He could see Chiro's face had paled...and he knew what Chiro was experiencing. "This ain't right," he said. "Orders or no orders, this ain't right."

"Sprx, don't—"

Without waiting for Nova to complete that response, he quickly came down the tree and ran behind some bushes to get into position.

"So, what's the matter, Geek?" BT asked. "Don't wanna get wet? Don't want any sand getting in your shorts? Don't want your fingers turning all wrinkly?"

"About time you cooled off your show-off hothead," Glenny said, as the two were ready to push Chiro into the pool.

Chiro didn't say a word. All the boy did was stare into the depths of the water. He was paralyzed with fear; Sprx could see that clear as day. The look on the kid's face was all too familiar to him. He could see another standing there in Chiro's place, just as petrified… just as helpless…

"_Come now, Sprx,"_ _that_ voice scolded in a distant memory. _"It's only a little water. What's there to be afraid of? If you cannot confront this absurd fear of yours, then you no right to call yourself a member of this team. You'll be nothing but dead-weight to the rest of—"_

On impulse, he activated his magnets. He then tore out of the bushes, shoving BT and Glenny from behind with his weapons and electrocuting them mildly. The two older boys screamed and fell into the pool.

This action had pushed Chiro forward a little, and he cried and almost fell in as well, but Sprx was hasty in grabbing the kid's wrist and pulling him into the bushes.

Not having noticed who saved him and apparently alarmed by these turn of events, Chiro yanked his hand free and ran as fast as he could, accidentally sending Sprx face-first into a mud puddle.

"You're welcome..." he grumbled, even though Chiro was out of sight by the time he straightened himself up.

"Sprx!" Nova exclaimed, rushing over to help him to his feet. "What were you thinking?"

"Hey, the Kid needed help," Sprx said as he wiped the mud off his face. "No one was standing up for him. Did you see the look on his face? Remember that swimming training _he_ forced me to go through, and how I reacted? No one should have to go through that experience, and the Kid almost did."

Nova merely looked at him. The frown on her muzzle didn't seem angry or annoyed… just thoughtful.

Sprx snorted lightly. His teammate was likely thinking on how she should break the news that he had disobeyed orders. "Hey, you can tattle on me to Gibson and Antauri all you want about me not following orders to stay hidden, but I thought our orders were to protect him, and I did. I _know_ I did the right thing!"

"I didn't say it was the wrong thing!" Nova snapped. "But you shouldn't have just—"

The conversation ended there for his and Nova's antennas extended. _"Sprx, Nova, we got a problem!"_ Otto's voice called in. _"We got a Formless vessel that's gonna land outside the city in about ten minutes! Antauri and me will come in and back you up, and Antauri says keep your eyes on Chiro."_

"You got it, Otto," Sprx answered, shutting off the communication a moment later. "Come on, we gotta catch up with the Kid."

Nova pounded her fist into her palm. "At least there's one good that comes out of this: we're going to finally be getting some action."

The red monkey inwardly sighed. If luck was on his side, then maybe she might forget about the whole 'shoving the kids in the pool' incident after she gets her taste of adrenaline.


End file.
